The nature of the environment in which products are manufactured, formulated, or otherwise prepared may vary tremendously depending upon the product being provided. However, in most instances the production environment is the result of a studied effort to efficiently and safely produce a product which meets or exceeds the consumers demands for quality. Generally, efforts towards heightened efficiency and safety are ongoing, typified by a continuing attempt to increase levels of economy and efficiency, production, product quality, and hygiene.
Unfortunately, the nature of certain production environments produces problems on an almost continual basis which can impact the product. These problems may result in or otherwise require severe remedies, especially when the ultimate product is one destined for human contact or consumption, such as for example, personal care products or food products, respectively. The application of remedial action may further be exacerbated by the nature of the system. For example, cleaning a closed system of tanks and pipeline used to process dairy products, fruit beverages, carbonated beverages, or brewed beverages (beer) may present a formidable task.
One example of such a production problem occurs in the brewing industry. Brewing malt beverages including the precursor products, as well as all the processing steps leading to bottling, result in sediment formation in the processing environment. The difficulty in removing this sediment from the processing environment often requires heightened remedial action to maintain product quality and hygiene.
This build up of precipitate is commonly called "black soil" or sludge. Chemically it is generally a complex mixture of the amine acetate components of the lubricant, a number of components found in beer and usually contains metals such as iron, chromium and nickel. The beer components found include sulfates, phosphates, carbonates, proteins and hops resins. It is thought that the reaction with the inorganic beer components (sulfates, phosphates, carbonates) may be the primary constituent of the soil. The precipitate itself is white or tan in color. The metals in the system combine with the beer and lube precipitate, and the amine acetate components of the lubricant are not able to provide the necessary lubricity. As a result, the friction on the sliding metal contacts increases further and wear increases releasing metal particles which then combine with the tan precipitate to form the black soil. The precipitate may form or settle in processing lines, making it difficult to remove and a constant threat to product clarity, quality and overall safety.
Previously, attempts at removing or otherwise purging the system of precipitate have included filtering and flushing. However, these techniques often require and generate high volumes of by-product, may also slow production, and provide a relatively low level of cleaning and antimicrobial efficacy.
As a result, there is a need to provide a commercially viable means of suspending waste particulates in fluid systems to facilitate removal while simultaneously increasing system hygiene through antimicrobial action.